MGM's A Stranger in Town will hopefully be the first of many classic films I'll be watching in the days, weeks and months ahead. For now, it's a plan, and as far as plans go, I hope I can stick to this one.
I picked a good one to kick off my classic-film adventure.
Directed by Roy Rowland, whose films I'm not yet familiar with, A Stranger in Town is a political drama where "small town meets big justice". But there's a twist: the story is less about politics and more about wit and wisdom.
It all starts when US Supreme Court justice, John Josephus Grant (actor Frank Morgan, the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz) goes on a quiet vacation—duck hunting, actually. But the absence of a proper licence unwittingly lands him in the middle of a small-town power struggle, a mayoral election, that wasn't on his agenda.
The justice, who hides his true identity and simply goes by the name of Joe Grant, finds himself rooting for Bill Adams (Richard Carlson), a young, honest and somewhat naïve lawyer running for mayor against the wealthy and influential incumbent, Connison (Robert Barrat). Connison seemingly has the local judge, businessman and sheriff in his pocket, using them to get Adams into trouble with the law and tarnish his public image.
But Joe Grant, the affable, unassuming and quick-witted judge, has a trick or two up his sleeve and helps Adams turn the tables on the crooked mayor. He's aided in this venture by his trusted secretary, Lucy Gilbert (Jean Rogers), who falls for Adams.
The final scene unfolds in dramatic fashion as Justice Grant, the Stranger in Town, takes centre stage in a packed courtroom.
A Stranger in Town is a light-hearted, old-fashioned black-and-white film that's fun to watch, mainly because there's nothing sinister about the corrupt ways of the mayor and his sidekicks. I enjoyed the film as much for the three solid characters as for the slapstick humour, the harmless street-side brawls and fisticuffs, which add to its appeal.
